Post-2015 Ministerial Working Group Commonwealth Keith Lewin FINAL
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Commonwealth Ministerial Working Group on the Post-2015 Development Framework for Education Marlborough House, 12-13 December 2012 Commonwealth Recommendations for the Post-2015 Development Framework for Education BACKGROUND PAPER Commonwealth Ministerial Working Group on the Post-2015 Development Framework for Education Printed and published by the Commonwealth Secretariat, December 2012 The Commonwealth Secretariat gratefully acknowledges the assistance provided by many individuals, especially the contributions of Professor Keith Lewin. For more information please contact: Jonathan Penson Adviser (Education) [email protected] Social Transformation Programmes Division Education Section Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX [email protected] www.thecommonwealth.org Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Background .................................................................................................................. 5 1.2 Outline of the paper ..................................................................................................... 5 2. The Commonwealth perspective ........................................................................................... 7 3. The changed development context ....................................................................................... 8 4. Strengths and weaknesses of the current framework .......................................................... 11 4.1 Strengths of the IAGs ................................................................................................... 11 4.2 Weaknesses of the IAGs ............................................................................................... 12 5. The options ........................................................................................................................ 17 6. The case for education in the new IAGs .............................................................................. 20 6.1 The unfinished business of education ......................................................................... 21 6.1.1 Progress against the MDGs for education in Commonwealth countries ................ 22 6.1.2 Progress against the EFA Goals in Commonwealth countries ................................ 23 6.1.3 Global progress .................................................................................................... 25 6.2 The catalytic role of education – its extrinsic value ..................................................... 26 6.3 Education for its own sake – its intrinsic value ............................................................ 29 7. Commonwealth focus ......................................................................................................... 30 7.1 Access ......................................................................................................................... 30 7.2 Equity ......................................................................................................................... 30 7.3 Quality ........................................................................................................................ 33 7.3.1 Teacher development .......................................................................................... 34 7.3.2 Education leadership and management .............................................................. 34 7.3.3 Technology for teaching and learning .................................................................. 35 8. The post-2015 development framework for education ....................................................... 35 8.1 Principal goals ............................................................................................................ 36 8.2 Subordinate goals ....................................................................................................... 38 8.2.1 Early childhood education and development ....................................................... 38 Commonwealth Ministerial Working Group on the Post-2015 Development Framework for Education 8.2.2 Basic education ................................................................................................... 39 8.2.3 Post-basic and post-secondary education ............................................................. 40 8.2.4 Non-formal education and lifelong learning ........................................................ 43 8.2.5 Participation........................................................................................................ 44 8.2.6 Infrastructure ...................................................................................................... 45 8.3 Cross-cutting themes ................................................................................................... 46 8.3.1 Education in emergencies .................................................................................... 46 8.3.2 Migration............................................................................................................. 47 8.3.3 Gender ................................................................................................................ 47 8.3.4 Education for sustainable development ............................................................... 48 9. Summary of goals, indicative indicators and targets ........................................................... 50 References ................................................................................................................................. 52 Appendix: Internationally Agreed Goals for Education ............................................................... 59 A.1 Millennium Development Goals for Education ............................................................ 59 A.2 Education for All Goals ................................................................................................ 59 Commonwealth Ministerial Working Group on the Post-2015 Development Framework for Education 1. Introduction 1.1 Background At the 18th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (18CCEM) in Mauritius in August 2012, Ministers established a Working Group to develop recommendations for the post-2015 development framework for education. The recommendations would reflect Commonwealth priorities for education and would be fed into the UN processes for replacing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for education and Education for All (EFA) goals (together, the Internationally Agreed Goals, or IAGs). The recommendations will be presented to the UN High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda and to UNESCO Education For All. The Working Group’s draft recommendations for the structure and content of the post-2015 framework are informed by the discussions at 18CCEM, the Mauritius Communiqué, statements from the 18CCEM Parallel Forums (Post-Secondary and Higher Education Leaders, Stakeholders, Teachers and Youth) and background documents prepared for 18CCEM (Education in the Commonwealth, Menefee and Bray, 2012) and the 18CCEM Issues Paper and Synopsis (Commonwealth Secretariat, 2012b). Draft recommendations were shared with Commonwealth ministers of education, together with Commonwealth civil society, strategic partners and other stakeholders. The Commonwealth Education Ministers recommendations to the architecture of the post-2015 framework and their priority areas for education are a result of this process. The Background Paper explores these approaches and primary areas in order to provide a substantiated basis for further refining the recommendations for the architecture and for prioritising areas of education which Members of the Working Group identified should be addressed in the post-2015 framework. 1.2 Outline of the paper The paper is structured to provide information on the identified priorities, the structure and architecture of the post-2015 framework. It includes background information and critical analysis of what is relevant to the specific priorities and recommendations proposed. The structure is as follows: Section 1 provides an introduction to the document and outlines the process undertaken to reach the final analysis and recommendations. Section 2 provides a rationale for why the Commonwealth perspective is important. It focuses on the premise and significance of the Commonwealth in the light of its diversity, breadth, common Page | 5 Commonwealth Ministerial Working Group on the Post-2015 Development Framework for Education values, convening power and ability to represent smaller countries, and identifies the importance of having the interface of values and education reflected in the new framework. Section 3 provides a brief overview of the changed development landscape to which the new framework should respond. It highlights changed perceptions of the role and responsibilities of governments, the private sector, and non-state actors, and changes in the perception of the role and purpose of education itself. This analysis identifies the importance of a multi-sectoral approach to development, while retaining focus on specific development outcomes. Section 4 provides an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the current development framework. It concludes that the framework represented a certain paradigm consensus on poverty reduction strategies, which fostered clear advocacy messages on certain key outcomes, and this enabled opportunity